dents who maintained lawful black bear bait stations. Clearly,
this was a very rare opportunity.
Afer all, no other bear-hunting scenario ofers the relative-
ly safe, semi-controlled situation that treestand hunting over
bait does. Bears are usually stationary and relaxed, at known
distances predetermined by placement of a bait barrel and po-
sitioned by cribbing, and totally preoccupied by the free meal
in front of them. In addition, since the hunter is perched 18-
21 feet high in a nearby tree, the danger is mostly limited to
walking a short distance to and from your bait. And, if you
hunt state or private land (rather than the National Wildlife
Refuge), you can legally use off-road vehicles, thereby in-
creasing safety by minimizing the chances of stumbling into
a slumbering bear while hiking the required distance from a
maintained road or structure.
I have baited for black bears in Alaska for nearly a decade,
and I have enjoyed good success. Ironically, several years ago I
wrote an article called “Baiting Blacks and Avoiding Browns!”
that specifcally addressed the many challenges of targeting
black bears in an area that was teeming with big, dominant
brown bears, but closed to hunting them over bait.
But now the regulations had changed, and the very bears that
I had previously considered pesky (and dangerous) nuisances
would now become potential trophies of a lifetime! What bet-
ter scenario for an Alaskan dad looking for something new and
exciting for his hardcore lady archer. Te hunt was on!No Slam Dunk
While brown bears are indeed at or near the top of the foodchain (depending on the bear’s mood and how well armed and
prepared you are) and capable of consuming mass quantities
of protein, they sleep a lot, and frequently become nocturnal.
And they certainly are not stupid.
I’ve baited black bears in my area for many years and have
had plenty of brown bear interaction, as well as trail camera
photos. By studying them intensely, I’ve found that brown
bears are extremely smart animals that educate quickly. Tey
can be very sneaky, and they rely on their noses more than any
other sense. Hunt with a poor wind direction, and just as with
mature whitetails, odds are you won’t even see a brown bear.
Any wild animal that survives to be 12 to 20 years old has
likely garnered a lifetime of knowledge and respect for its only
living predator — man. Unlike black bears, whose empty bel-
lies ofen overtake sound judgment, a brown bear will not
throw caution to the wind and slowly sneak in to a bait site for
an eat-and-run visit. Rather, when a brownie smells a hunter at
“their” bait, they will break branches or even snap spruce trees
at the trunk in total frustration, sending the careless hunter a
message from within the treeline — I’m hungry, and I don’t
like you on “my” bait! I’m here to tell you that this can be one
eerie sound for an archer thinking about climbing down and
walking out.The Roller Coaster
On this particular hunt, many days were spent studying
maps, scouting potential areas, and checking prevailing winds
for the perfect setups. Afer Kendra and I got fully permitted,
big, heavy, homemade barrels were lugged into the woods
and chained to a sturdy, mature tree. From experience, I have
found that standard 55-gallon drums quickly get crushed like
tin cans by 1,000-pound brown bears, so I used custom-fabri-
cated barrels built from old, steel water heaters.TIME WILL TELL
Protecting Your Trail Cameras
For years, I struggled with how to protect my expensive
trail cameras while baiting bears. I would either fnd my
camera missing entirely, or dangling from the tree in a
mangled mess of plastic. Heavy-duty cables or chains just
exasperate the issue, as big browns will bite and pull on the
unit until the plastic housing fails.
Numerous companies offer metal lock boxes for
their trail cameras. While certainly not sturdy enough to
withstand the bone-crunching force of a brown bear’s jaws,
these boxes do make a good starting platform for the do-it-yourself handyman.
A formidable deterrent can be easily constructed by purchasing several dozen sturdy
masonry nails and tack-welding them every half-inch to all sides of these lock boxes,
then spraying them with a shot of
dull primer. Bears will still fnd your
camera, but they aren’t dumb, so
they quickly recognize, and respect,
a contraption that bites back!
My custom “punk rock” boxes
are only part of the solution, though.
You must keep human scent to a bare
minimum while installing and check-
ing the cameras. When baiting in
brown bear country, one person always handles
the scent and the bait, and the other person
becomes the designated trail camera person.
He or she always wears fresh surgical gloves,
and douses the entire contraption with a scent-
eliminating spray when fnished. By sticking to
this detailed process, I can honestly say I have
not lost a trail camera in three seasons.
Kendra consistently hit the “10 ring”
during her many practice sessions in
the backyard. Proper preparation
inspires confdence, as a wounded
brown bear can bring dire consequences.The amount of bait, scent, and gear
needed to successfully bear bait can
be daunting, as can muddy trails.